GILLETTE, Wyo. — Before a discussion over oil bonding requirements took center stage at the Campbell County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday, the board approved grants for several groups in Campbell County.
Ranging from public health to community service, the board approved all grants unanimously. For detailed documents related to each proposal, check out the meeting agenda.
First on the list for Tuesday was the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, or HIDTA, grant agreement for the 2025 fiscal year, amounting $101,369. Sheriff Scott Matheny spoke before the board for the item, explaining how the grant was used to mitigate drug trafficking in the county.
“This grant money helps fund an officer on the drug task force team over at the [Department of Criminal Investigation] to investigate High Intensity Drug Areas, and we’re on loan over at the DCI investigating the northeast area and basically sometimes all over the state,” Matheny said.
The grant amount to work with the DCI was not changing significantly, Matheny said, and was used to investigate all controlled substances. While the instances of drug trafficking in the county were not increasing significantly, fentanyl in particular was on the rise.
Following the HIDTA grant approval, two grant agreements were approved for Campbell County Health. The first, for $107,000, would fund the cost of the Public Health Preparedness and Response Unit, including both the salaries of the staff in the unit and other operating costs.
Jane Glaser, executive director of Campbell County Public Health, said the grant was federally funded through measures put in place after 9/11 in the event of public medical emergencies. Commissioner Jordan made the motion to approve the grant, and Commissioner Ford seconded the motion.
Glaser also was approved for a $10,000 grant to provide additional support for when the County Health Officer, Dr. Patel, gives extra support for preparedness and response to the public heath nursing office, Glaser said.
“A perfect example is our anthrax scare last month. Dr. Patel responded along with myself and my public health response coordinator. He was there and he helped us make decisions on what to do, where to go, how we needed to move forward with that specific event,” Glaser said.
Following Glaser’s two grant agreements, the board unanimously approved two grant applications, one for the Emergency Management Performance Grant and one for the Community Service Block Grant. The two applications were for $66,000 and $229,855, respectively.
